Rusty Hearts Preview

I play a lot of MMORPGs. I wouldn’t say that I’m picky when it comes to them; I’ll try anything. It takes a really good game to keep me around though. So when Rusty Hearts was next on my preview list, I was skeptical.
After a quick download, I fired up the game. Rusty Hearts lets you play as one of four characters (though only three were playable). There’s Tude, who has a demon arm and is an intense melee character; Angela, who is a magical caster-type; and there’s Frantz, a vampire that uses swords and looks like Edward Cullen from Twilight—only more badass…like a mix of Dante and Edward. Okay, enough about Twilight.

After choosing one of many realms that you can switch between, the tutorial got me used to the controls. I found them a little funky with the keyboard, as it wasn’t a layout I was accustomed to, but plug in a controller (I used a wired 360 controller), and the game plays like cutting through a moist slice of chocolate cake. What I'm trying to say is, the combat is smooth.

The game is entirely instanced. The loading times are quick, which is surprising since the environment, while simple, looks fairly stunning. The game has some sick cel-shaded visuals, which drew me in right away and make the game absolutely bleed with style. The best way to describe not only the looks but the overall tone of the game is a mix between Devil May Cry and Castlevania. The city you are in acts as a player hub where you can form parties, get quests, sell and buy items, craft, and get new skills. Forming a party is a button click away, so if you don’t want to adventure alone you can find someone easily.

The quests you receive will send you to these instanced areas, like a dungeon or castle, where you will choose the level of that area you want to play in; beating one level unlocks the next. Quests range from beating a certain level or difficulty in a set amount of time, a certain number of hits in a combo, and collect x amount of items. The levels are short, so if you only want to play for about 15 minutes you can, but time becomes irrelevant when you're completely engrossed with cutting down monsters and beasts, and before you know it minutes become hours. Moving through each level is fast paced—defeat a section of enemies and move on to the next section. At the end of each level, a boss awaits to test your skills, and often requires some form of strategy to take down. To further change up the same level, you can choose a difficulty from Normal all the way to Very Hard that changes the types of enemies and the amount that you’ll face, which of course means you should tackle these levels with more party members.

If you're into collecting tons of loot, Rusty Hearts has you covered. You'll find things like set pieces of armor, crafting items, and weapons. Even though armor doesn’t change your appearance, there are costume pieces you can get from quests or pay for through the cash shop that change your appearance.

The combat is where the game really shines. You’re able to chain together your skills to do some truly sick combos that not only look awesome, but do some serious damage. It's very much all in real time, meaning a press of a button gives instant satisfaction as you slice through your enemies and watch their health bar get chopped in half. At the end of every level, you are assigned a grade to how well you did, much like the grades in Devil May Cry 4. They range from D to SSS and are affected by your combat style. I never really cared for this much, but in this game I love it, as some quests require a certain score, and the EXP awards are greater the better you do.

The story is pretty good for an anime game brought over to the western world, and there’s some cute, comedic content thrown into the dialogue, which is all conveyed via text.

Considering I didn’t have huge expectations for this game, I was absolutely blown away by how amazing it looked and how fun it is. I didn’t experience the pvp modes at all, but the brutal, action-packed combat and fast pace of the game kept me entertained. It’s a game that’s easy on the eyes and easy to lose track of time in. I easily sat there playing for two hours in what felt like 20 minutes. I definitely recommend that you try this game; it’s free, so why not give it a whirl? If you’re a fan of dungeon crawler, hack-n-slash brawler, action-rpg MMO’s, then you will have a blast with this game.